Development of a machine learning model for precision prognosis of rapid kidney function decline in people with diabetes and chronic kidney disease.

Aims: To develop a machine learning model for predicting rapid kidney function decline in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) and to pinpoint key modifiable risk factors for targeted interventions.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study on 6,924 individuals with T2D and CKD at Seoul National University Hospital. Kidney function decline was assessed using estimated glomerular filtration rate slopes.

Synergistic toxic effects and mechanistic insights of beta-cypermethrin and pyraclostrobin exposure on hook snout carp (Opsariichthys bidens): A biochemical, transcriptional, and molecular approach.

The extensive utilization of pesticides results in their frequent detection in aquatic environments, often as complex mixtures, posing risks to aquatic organisms. The hook snout carp (Opsariichthys bidens) serves as a valuable bioindicator for evaluating the impacts of environmental pollutants in aquatic ecosystems. However, few studies examined the toxic effects of pesticides on O.

Perivascular adipose tissue remodeling impairs vasoreactivity in thermoneutral-housed rats.

Objective: Vascular pathology, characterized by impaired vasoreactivity and mitochondrial respiration, differs between the sexes. Housing rats under thermoneutral (TN) conditions causes vascular dysfunction and perturbed metabolism. We hypothesized that perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT), a vasoregulatory adipose depot with brown adipose tissue (BAT) phenotype, remodels to a white adipose (WAT) phenotype in rats housed at TN, driving diminished vasoreactivity in a sex-dependent manner.

A new plant-esterase inhibition based electrochemical sensor with signal amplification by MoS@N-CDs for chlorpyrifos detection.

Chlorpyrifos (CPF) is the most common pesticide entering the food chain and posing a threat to human health. This study presents a new electrochemical biosensor based on molybdenum disulfide nanosheets and nitrogen-doped carbon dot nanocomposite (MoS@N-CDs) and kidney bean esterase (KdBE), and it is shown to achieve accurate detection of CPF. MoS@N-CDs were prepared by a facile solvothermal method and characterized by electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.

Insight into the relationship between metabolic enzymes and oxadiazon degradation in Oryza sativa for reducing environmental risks.

Oxadiazon (ODZ) is extensively utilized in agricultural fields for weed control owing to its strong effectiveness. However, excessive loading of ODZ in water bodies and agricultural soils can lead to various environmental concerns. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the ODZ metabolic process and associated mechanisms in crops to assess the likelihood of ODZ contamination in the environment.

Developing a Cost-Effectiveness Model of Digital Therapeutics for Smoking Cessation.

The purpose of this research was to construct a Markov model of digital therapeutics to predict the lifetime costs and consequences that would be incurred by a hypothetical group of adult smokers in Korea who only made a single attempt to stop smoking. To determine the efficacy of DTx, we created an annual cycle Markov model. The result shows that the NRT strategy is determined as the dominant strategy.

Simultaneous production of high-frequency synthetic apomixis with high fertility and improved agronomic traits in hybrid rice.

The current apomixis system used in fixing heterozygosity suffers from the problems of low fertility and limited apomixis induction rate. This study implies that egg-cell-specific expression of dandelion's PAR combined with MiMe in hybrid rice can efficiently trigger highly fertile synthetic apomixis for effective clonal propagation of hybrids.

Lignan and Phthalide Derivatives from the Rhizome of () and Evaluation of Their -Xanthine Oxidase Activities.

The previous research results showed that the extracts of ethyl acetate of the rhizome of () possessed significant antigout effects in model mice. To explore the active ingredients responsible for the effects, phytochemical studies were performed, which led to the isolation of three rare 8', 9-linked neolignans, ligusticumins A-C (-), together with two novel phthalide-phenylpropanoid heterodimers, ligusticumalides A-B ( and ). It is noteworthy that possesses an unprecedented 7-styryl phthalide skeleton.

Cellular toxicity profile of a new ophthalmic sponge.

Ophthalmic sponges are used for cleaning the eye surface and absorbing fluids during ophthalmic procedures. This study compared the biological safety and stability of a new ophthalmic sponge, Occucell® (OccuTech Inc, Seongnam, Korea), on the human conjunctival epithelial cells with those of preexisting products to evaluate its clinical application. The cytotoxicity of four products, Occucell, a new product, Ultracell, Eyetec-1, and Eyetec-2, on conjunctival epithelial cells, was evaluated using the MTT (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) analysis.

Associative gene networks reveal novel candidates important for ADHD and dyslexia comorbidity.

Background: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is commonly associated with developmental dyslexia (DD), which are both prevalent and complicated pediatric neurodevelopmental disorders that have a significant influence on children's learning and development. Clinically, the comorbidity incidence of DD and ADHD is between 25 and 48%. Children with DD and ADHD may have more severe cognitive deficiencies, a poorer level of schooling, and a higher risk of social and emotional management disorders.

Effect of insect protein and protease on growth performance, blood profiles, fecal microflora and gas emission in growing pig.

Two experiments were conducted to determine the effect of larvae (HIL) as protein and protease on growth performance, blood profiles, fecal microflora, and gas emission in growing pig. In experiment 1, the seventy-two crossbred growing pigs ([Landrace × Yorkshire] × Duroc) with an initial body weight (BW) of 27.98 ± 2.

High-contrast visualization of human skin cancers with combined reflectance confocal and moxifloxacin-based two-photon microscopy: An ex vivo study.

Background And Objectives: Precise determination of cancer margin during skin cancer surgery is crucial for complete resection and further clinical prognosis. Although reflection confocal microscopy (RCM) has been used for perioperative guiding, its reflection contrast has limitations in detecting cancer cells in the dermis. We previously developed combined reflection confocal (RC) and moxifloxacin-based two-photon (MB-TP) microscopy for sensitive cancer detection by using multiple contrast mechanisms.

Simultaneous determination and pharmacokinetic study of six components in beagle dog plasma by UPLC-MS/MS after oral administration of Astragalus Membranaceus aqueous extract.

Astragalus Membranaceus (AM) is widely applied in Chinese herbal compound formulas for treating various kinds of diseases. However, relative pharmacokinetics data on AM in nonrodents is still lacking. Here, an UPLC-MS/MS method for determining the six main compounds of AM was developed.

Thermoneutrality induces vascular dysfunction and impaired metabolic function in male Wistar rats: a new model of vascular disease.

Objective: Cardiovascular disease is of paramount importance, yet there are few relevant rat models to investigate its pathology and explore potential therapeutics. Housing at thermoneutral temperature (30 °C) is being employed to humanize metabolic derangements in rodents. We hypothesized that housing rats in thermoneutral conditions would potentiate a high-fat diet, resulting in diabetes and dysmetabolism, and deleteriously impact vascular function, in comparison to traditional room temperature housing (22 °C).

Tomato ARPC1 regulates trichome morphology and density and terpene biosynthesis.

Based on transcriptomic analysis of wild-type and mutant tomato plants, ARPC1 was found to be important for trichome formation and development and it plays a key role in terpene synthesis. Trichomes are protruding epidermal cells in plant species. They function as the first defense layer against biotic and abiotic stresses.

(-)-Epicatechin Reverses Glucose Intolerance in Rats Housed at Thermoneutrality.

Diabetes is a life-threatening and debilitating disease with pathological hallmarks, including glucose intolerance and insulin resistance. Plant compounds are a source of novel and effective therapeutics, and the flavonoid (-)-epicatechin, common to popular foods worldwide, has been shown to improve carbohydrate metabolism in both clinical studies and preclinical models. We hypothesized that (-)-epicatechin would alleviate thermoneutral housing-induced glucose intolerance.

Effects of Defatting Methods on the Physicochemical Properties of Proteins Extracted from Larvae.

In this study, we investigated the effects of various defatting methods, including organic solvent (aqueous, acetone, ethanol, and hexane) extraction and physical (cold pressure) extraction, on the nutritional, physicochemical, and functional properties of proteins extracted from larvae. The total essential amino acid contents were higher with cold pressure protein extraction than other treatments. The surface hydrophobicity with cold pressure treatment was the lowest, and there were no significant differences among the other treatments.

A novel electrochemical sensing platform based on the esterase extracted from kidney bean for high-sensitivity determination of organophosphorus pesticides.

Similar to acetylcholinesterase, the activity of plant-derived esterase can also be inhibited by organophosphorus pesticides. Therefore, an electrochemical sensing platform using kidney bean esterase as a new detection enzyme was proposed for the highly sensitive determination of organophosphorus pesticides. Purified kidney bean esterase was obtained by an efficient and economical aqueous two-phase extraction method.

(-)-Epicatechin Improves Vasoreactivity and Mitochondrial Respiration in Thermoneutral-Housed Wistar Rat Vasculature.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a global health concern. Vascular dysfunction is an aspect of CVD, and novel treatments targeting vascular physiology are necessary. In the endothelium, eNOS regulates vasodilation and mitochondrial function; both are disrupted in CVD.

A simple sensing platform based on a 1T@2H-MoS/cMWCNTs composite modified electrode for ultrasensitive detection of illegal Sudan I dye in food samples.

The work presented here describes a highly sensitive and simple electrochemical sensor for the detection of Sudan I dye based on a nanocomposite made of MoS heterogeneous nanosheets (1T@2H-MoS) and carboxylated carbon nanotubes (cMWCNTs) (1T@2H-MoS/cMWCNTs). XPS results indicate that the content of 1T phase MoS was estimated to be 72% in 1T@2H-MoS. Electron microscopy results show that the tubular cMWCNTs are uniformly interwoven in MoS nanosheets to form a three-dimensional network structure.

ADMM approach for efficient iterative tomographic deconvolution reconstruction of 3D quantitative phase images.

Tomographic deconvolution phase microscopy (TDPM) is a promising approach for 3D quantitative imaging of phase objects such as biological cells and optical fibers. In the present work, the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) is applied to TDPM to shorten its image acquisition and processing times while simultaneously improving its accuracy. ADMM-TDPM is used to optimize the image fidelity by minimizing Gaussian noise and by using total variation regularization with the constraints of nonnegativity and known zeros.

SlHair2 Regulates the Initiation and Elongation of Type I Trichomes on Tomato Leaves and Stems.

Trichomes are hair-like structures that are essential for abiotic and biotic stress responses. Tomato Hair (H), encoding a C2H2 zinc finger protein, was found to regulate the multicellular trichomes on stems. Here, we characterized Solyc10g078990 (hereafter Hair2, H2), its closest homolog, to examine whether it was involved in trichome development.

The effect of miR-496 on eIF3h in lung invasive adenocarcinoma.

This study explores the correlation between microRNA-496 (miR-496) expression and eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3H (eIF3h) expression in lung invasive adenocarcinoma. A total of 71 patients with lung adenocarcinoma were included in the study. The tumor tissue samples were collected together with the normal lung tissue samples that were acquired more than 2 cm away from the edge of the tumor).

Prevalence and Progression of Stage 0 Macular Hole in Fellow Eyes of Patients with Idiopathic Full-thickness Macular Hole.

Purpose: To assess the prevalence and progression of a stage 0 macular hole in the fellow eye of patients with an idiopathic full-thickness macular hole.

Methods: The fellow eyes of 189 patients who underwent idiopathic full-thickness macular hole surgery were examined by biomicroscopy and spectral domain-optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). A subset of 21 fellow eyes with a stage 0 macular hole was observed.